The Best UK Festivals For More Than Just Music
If you’re not down with muddy fields, mosh pits and all-night raves, doesn’t mean festival season has to pass you by. There’s plenty of cool weekenders that have plenty more to offer than their music line-up.
Ok, so we can’t promise you’ll skip the mud, but if its delectable food banquets, unrivalled performance art and back to nature experiences you’re after, these five UK-based festivals definitely deliver.
Wilderness, Oxfordshire
4th-7th August
The words de-stress and festival might not sound like they go together, but just wait until you’ve been to Wilderness. Set around a placid lake, this foodie favourite boasts perfectly-dressed long table banquets hosted by top chefs. There’s also theatre, talks and debates, wellbeing workshops and, of course, music from the likes of Lianne La Havas and The Flaming Lips. Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit for a spot of wild swimming in that lake, too.
Latitude, Southwold, Suffolk
14th - 17th July
One of the UK’s biggest culture festivals, Latitide can always be relied on to deliver a rich mix of the best in music, theatre, poetry readings, and even ballet in one jam-packed weekend. This year you can catch a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and follow it up with sets from Grimes and New Order.
[Photo: Rex]
Camp Bestival, Dorset
28th - 31st July
Bestival’s sister festival has plenty to offer in its own right. For starters its set in the grounds of Ludworth Castle, which will make for an amazing backdrop to performance art and music from Fat Boy Slim and Jess Glynne. Camp Bestival has a theme every year and this time it’s Outer Space. Get crafting.
Leeds Indie Food Festival, Leeds
7th - 24th May
Leeds is hot on London’s heels with its food scene, and there’s no better way to experience its independent eateries than at Leeds Indie Food Festival. In two weeks it packs in dinners, cooking lessons, talks and tastings all round the city at favourites like Bangwok and Belgrave Music Hall. Be sure to book tickets for your favourite cuisine night now to avoid an empty stomach.
Jamie Oliver’s Big Feasitval, Cotswolds
26th - 28th August
Jamie Oliver and Blur’s Alex James teamed up create this foodie fest, which takes place on James’s farm in the Cotswolds. There’s great grub, music from the likes of Tinie Tempah and DJ Yoda, plus demos from top chefs including Raymond Blanc and Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain. There’s also the Little Dudes Den if you’ve got kids, and if you need to sleep of all those banquets you can opt to camp on site. Our mouths are already watering.
